Logo Design Recap: The Best (And Worst) Logos of 2018

And that’s a wrap for 2018! As far as the branding and design world goes, 2018 was a whirlwind of a year that was full of both successful and unsuccessful rebrands. Rebranding is never easy — and whether you’re a small startup business or a global enterprise, it still takes a lot of time and resources to come up with a rebranding strategy, implement the strategy, and deal with any collateral damage in the wake of the reveal. One of the most challenging aspects of the whole process is the logo design.

A logo is the most visible piece of marketing for a company; it’s what is most seen by the public. If the logo design doesn’t align with the company’s products, services, or message, then the public will have a hard time identifying with the new look.

But no matter how tough the ordeal is, many companies make it through their rebranding process unscathed and go on to become even more successful than they once were. Below are a few companies that played their cards right in 2018 to reveal a successful logo redesign and new branding strategy.

The Best Logo Redesigns of 2018

Dunkin Donuts
“Dunkin'” is the new name now. Founded in 1950, Dunkin’ Donuts has been providing America with affordable breakfast options and fresh brewed coffee for decades. We don’t blame them for the rebrand, as it has certainly been some time since they changed up their image. Dunkin’ will be focusing more on quality coffee while shying away from being a “just donuts” shop. While loyal customers were dismayed by their Fall 2018 announcement, the rebrand was swift and smooth. Keeping the same bubble font style and bright orange and pink colors, Dunkin’ opted to go with a look that their customers new best.
Rotten Tomatoes
The popular TV and film reviews website opted for a rebrand in 2018 after 17 years running — and the new logo looks stunning! The previous logo featured bold typeface font with misaligned letters that were jumbled close together. The new redesign sought to clean up the look and make the appearance more modern. While still keeping the bold block font style, the letters are now aligned and the tomato icon’s that appear in the “O” letters have been cleaned up. A social media icon was also created that is now featured across their social media channels and their mobile app. The overall look is clean and the designers made sure not to try and reinvent the wheel so that customers could continue to identify their brand.
MailChimp
The E-mail marketing platform revealed a quirky yet creative rebrand in Fall 2018. While most tech and online businesses usually opt for a more minimalist logo design after the first 5 years in business, MailChimp decided to do just the opposite. The logo design resulted in MailChimp becoming an approachable, down-to-earth email marketing platform that anyone can use and connect with. The hand-drawn illustrations that accompany MailChimp’s branding has set a new logo design trend in motion for 2019 — and one we can all expect to see more of in the future.
Joann Fabrics
From frumpy mom craft store to a creative art supply chain, Jo-Ann Fabrics rebranded to market their products to a younger crowd. The arts and crafts store has been around for over 75 years and — like most businesses who have been around for awhile — wanted a modern revamp. The company opted for a modern font style, dropped their business slogan (“fabric and craft stores”) and chose a custom light green to replace the deep forest green once accompanied by their text-only logo. The detailed “A” was kept and given and upgrade as well to ensure customers would still be able to recognize the brand. The result of the rebrand was refreshing and much-needed.
Carlsberg
One of the oldest beer companies in the world, Carlsberg has been around since 1847 and has a global presence — so it was no easy task to rebrand when they have these many customers. Carlsberg’s new logo looks relatively the same, though it’s typeface has been updated to reflect more modern times. The letters are thinner and the lines cleaner, while the font color is more contrasting against their packaging. Speaking of packaging. The best part about Carlsberg’s new rebrand is their new packaging. The company poured millions of dollars into researching an adhesive packing material that would take the place of plastic, and it was a huge success.

The Worst Rebrands of 2018

Papa Johns
Embattled by scandal and sinking profits, the national pizza chain was desperate to put the past behind them and cover up all evidence with a new logo. Unfortunately, the new logo has seemed to fall flat for customers and there is nothing that ties the new branding to the products and services they provide. While they did manage to keep the same colors, drop the apostrophe from “John’s”, and update the font, there are no traces of the word “pizza” anywhere.
IHOB
IHOP added a new section to their menu — and it has nothing to do with breakfast. In a brief rebranding stunt that was purely a “publicity gimmick”, the International House of Pancakes temporarily changed their logo to International House of Burgers to promote their new menu options. While the marketing tactic did work, it was not well received by customers. The company switched back to their original logo a month later and did not have to spend a dime on rebranding their storefronts.
Weight Watchers
From a full text-only typeface logo to a double initial logo, Weight Watchers decided to make their brand’s appearance more minimalist. While they did shed a few letters from their old logo, they, unfortunately, ended up shedding a slew of loyal fans as well. Their new logo consists of two white capital “W” letters stacked on top of each other within a royal blue circle. The switch to the double initial style logo was most likely made to ensure the brand’s logo looked professional on online marketing channels such as social media. The issue now is whether or not new customers will be able to identify with the new logo.